Here comes the judge: Hastings readies to be parade grand marshal

Friday

Mar 16, 2018 at 12:01 AMMar 16, 2018 at 12:45 AM

NEWPORT, R.I. — The organizers of the Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade keep a couple of key criteria in mind when they select a grand marshal.

The honoree must be local with strong ties to the City-by-the-Sea or the wider Aquidneck Island community. And as a general rule, the organizers recently have steered clear of politicians, despite some notable exceptions like former state Sen. Teresa Paiva Weed in 2004, according to Parade Committee Chairman Dennis Sullivan.

Many politicians “will look at the grand marshal sticker and throw it in the closet with 20 other stickers,” never to look at it again, he explained. Being grand marshal should mean something more to the person than simply another public recognition.

District Court Associate Judge Colleen Hastings, a Newport native who has spent almost her entire life here, and someone who typically shirks the spotlight, was a natural choice to lead this year’s parade.

“She fits well,” Sullivan said during a recent phone interview.

“She’s not very outgoing,” he said. “She just does what she does and does it. And that’s the type of person we like. She doesn’t look for recognition.”

Hastings treats everyone with the same respect, Sullivan said, whether it is a high-ranking official at City Hall or the janitor.

Given that she keeps a low profile, he was surprised she even agreed to be the grand marshal. “Maybe I called her at the right time,” he said, chuckling. “I don’t think she thought about it at first.”

“I was so honored to be considered,” Hastings said during a recent interview in her chambers at the Florence Murray Judicial Complex. “It was an absolute surprise.”

Hastings, 53, has taken it in stride, quipping that the worst part was having her photo taken for this article and another one in the Mercury weekly.

“I’ve been told that the oven is warm and the roast is inside,” she said, anticipating her roast that took place Sunday in the St. Augustin’s Church hall.

The 62nd Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade will start in front of City Hall on Broadway on Saturday at 11 a.m. and proceed down Thames Street and America’s Cup Avenue back to Thames Street, then onto Carroll Avenue to St. Augustin’s Church in the city’s traditionally Irish Fifth Ward neighborhood. A complete list of marching groups will be in Saturday’s Daily News.

Hastings appreciates the parade and role she will play leading it, saying it honors the “achievements and contributions of the Irish immigrants and their descendants who are here in Newport. I’m very proud to be Irish.”

Her paternal grandparents and maternal grandfather were born in Ireland. A world traveler who has been to Taiwan, France, Portugal and Austria, Hastings’ favorite destination is Ireland, which she has visited eight or nine times, she said.

Her father, Thomas, was the founder of the Boys Club of Newport County in the mid-1950s, which grew into the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newport County. She continues the family tradition of giving back to the community, with volunteer work for Lucy’s Hearth and the Women’s Resource Center.

After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, she worked under Judge Francis Boyle of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, who persuaded her to pursue a law degree. Hastings attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston, going to classes at night as her family grew, and graduated in 1991.

She started her own law firm, the Family Law Center of Rhode Island, and later served as assistant city solicitor in Newport, prosecuting misdemeanor crimes. She also served as a legal counsel for the Senate at the Statehouse. “So I’ve worn a number of hats,” she said.

Hastings was a magistrate in Family Court before Gov. Donald Carcieri nominated her to be a District Court judge in 2010.

“I very much believe in the decorum of the courtroom and the respect it deserves,” she said. “And so I try to create an atmosphere where everyone is respected and heard. And once you flow that one way, it tends to come back to you as well.”

As a District Court judge assigned to Newport, Hastings handles every aspect of the position, including arraignments, probation reviews and trials. Domestic violence and drunken-driving cases are among the most difficult to preside over, she said.

“Unfortunately, the (number of) domestic violence cases are pretty consistent,” she said. “The ones where the children are the victims, they may have been present — they’re still impacted.”

Asked how she remains impartial, she replied: “I mean I have to, I’m bound to do that. Sometimes I try not to hear too much about the case before a trial starts. I’ll let the attorneys kind of try and work it out rather than involve me in working it out, so that it’s fresh when it starts. There are days when I’m presiding that I wish I were an attorney again because I’m like, ‘I wouldn’t have asked it that way. Why did you ask that question?’ But you can’t.

“I have to remain impartial and that’s important. It’s not only my duty but to make the defendants feel as though they’ve had their day in court even if I end up ruling against them.”

Despite having a degree that she could apply anywhere and her love of travel, Hastings is committed to staying in Newport.

She cited community members’ willingness to help each other and rattled off everything Newport offers with events and culture. “I love living here,” she concluded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She’s a local, after all.

Gomes@NewportRI.com

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